Clown question??

[MrHarvard]

My female glown recently started digging in the sand...Like making a bed. She has moved all the sand out of the front corner for my tank almost all the way to the bottom of the tank. Her and her mate have been acting kind of strange towards each other as well. Is this normal? Is there any reason she is making the bed?

 

[TriggersAmuck]

Caviar anyone?

Caviar anyone?

Start looking for bright orange (caviar colored) eggs every other week on the adjacent rocks. The smaller clown (the male) will tend to stick right with them once they are laid, so they should be easy to spot.

 

[MrHarvard]

Re: Caviar anyone?

Re: Caviar anyone?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15407897#post15407897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TriggersAmuck
Start looking for bright orange (caviar colored) eggs every other week on the adjacent rocks. The smaller clown (the male) will tend to stick right with them once they are laid, so they should be easy to spot.

That will be cool...Im not sure if it is possible yet though. How big does a clown have to be to mate? My female is deff. large enought but my male is still very small. Less than an inch. It it still possible?

 

[Typlus5]

Got pics?

 

[MrHarvard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15408430#post15408430 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Typlus5
Got pics?

Here are some pics from a few week ago of the fish that is......sry for the quality!! Its hard to get an idea of there size from it but the female is alittle over 2 inches and the male is right at an inch....

 

[MrHarvard]

Anyone else think they are setting up to lay eggs? Anyone with any info would be appreciated!!

 

[GlassReef]

Re: Clown question??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15407834#post15407834 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrHarvard
... Her and her mate have been acting kind of strange towards each other as well. Is this normal? Is there any reason she is making the bed?

As to their "acting strange" - would you say it is a mutual acting out, or is it more female to male? I've always been of the opinion that, if they're mature enough to bond as a couple, they're mature enough to spawn. Of course it's very possible that the male is so young that his sperm will not be viable.

As to the female making a bed - clownfish females always attach their eggs to a solid, preferably flat, surface. If she is digging in the sand, it could very well be that she is trying to reach "bedrock", i.e., a solid surface.

 

[Colo_pr]

My Maroon and Oscellaris were doing that a lot when they were the only clowns in their tanks. Now that they have their mates (Maroon has not accepted its mate yet) I have not seen them doing that again.

I saw some time ago here in RC that they do that looking for food in the sand. Not sure if that is accurate or not but I have seen the Hippo tang and the Firefish doing the same thing.

Good luck if they are laying eggs. :thumbsup:

Colo.

 

[unda_da_see]

fanning the tail and moving substrate w/ their mouths is normal.

 

[TriggersAmuck]

Sounds like your male is about the same size as my several year old male Maroon clown (quite small...this is normal), and though I have never reared the fry, it is clear from the appearance of the silvery eyes in the eggs the day of or before they disappear (hatch) that they are fertile.